O Pozdrawiajacych sie wzajemnie rowerzystach

15.03.06, 21:30
Witam, dzis znalazłam taki watek W Guardianie, to a propos watku o coraz
czesciej pozdrawiajacych się rowerzystach.


Cold-shouldered in the city

Matt Seaton
Wednesday March 15, 2006
The Guardian

If you go for a recreational ride at the weekend, every cyclist you meet
coming the other way will give you a little wave or a nod. Get a puncture on
some country road and, like as not, a passing rider will stop to check you
have everything you need to get home. And when you break your ride for a tea
stop, the other cyclists in the cafe will greet you with pleasantries about
the cold, the wind, the hills and which is the best cake to choose.


I'm the first to wax romantic about "the fellowship of the road". There is a
tremendous sense of solidarity in every cyclist based on the shared experience
of a passion. It is the instinctive empathy of identification you get when you
feel you belong to a community. You can ride the world over and find it
wherever you go.

But we're a rum lot, too. For all I know, the rider I pull up next to at the
traffic lights on a Monday morning may be the guy who saluted me on Sunday,
but do we acknowledge each other? Do we heck. There's certainly no nodding or
waving, let alone chatting. Instead, we each pretend the other doesn't exist.

I've tried telling myself that this is just another instance of that very
English etiquette about respecting people's preferred illusion - on any form
of transport - that they are in a sealed bubble of privacy and solitary
contemplation: the way everyone on the underground carriage acts as if they're
the only person there, even when they may be in enforced bodily contact with
strangers. But this doesn't seem to fit the cycling subculture: we're not
forced into the same confined space; we are each masters of our own
conveyance, autonomous and free.

So why aren't we more friendly? In an experimental spirit, I have sometimes
tried breaking the ice with a sardonic remark addressed to the rider next to
me about something we've both just witnessed. Occasionally you get treated as
a marginal loony, space invader or suspect sexual harasser, but mostly people
seem only too glad to respond in kind. In fact, I think they feel, as I do,
almost relieved that the tension inherent in these artificial-ignoring
scenarios has been broken for once.

It's not just that we're English; it's something specific to cyclists. For all
that we ride together sometimes, we don't run with the herd. There is a bit of
the loner about us, the cat that walks by itself. And sometimes, we hiss and
scratch - even at our own kind. In the past week or so, for things I've
written, other cyclists have called me a bully, an arse and a middle-class
socialist from north London. (That last really stung: I live in south London,
dammit.)

But would I have it any other way? No. And I will defend to the death your
right to ignore me at the lights.

Bike doctor
All your cycling questions answered

Dear Matt,

In winter, I am often prevented from cycling by the cold - I have poor
circulation in my hands, and my fingers get too painful. I would really like
someone to invent heated handlebars for my bike, but failing that, can you
recommend the best gloves around?
Ruth Beckmann, via email

I wish I had the perfect solution for you, Ruth. I love the idea of heated
handlebars (as long as they run off rechargeable power or a dynamo); you
should patent them quick.

I did have a great pair of gloves made by Specialized, which came from the US,
where they have harder winters than we do. They seemed to be insulated with
something like pipe lagging and were amazingly warm. Sadly, they have now
fallen apart.

I would suggest you go for a Gore-Tex outer glove that really stops the wind.
Then my best tip is to get yourself a pair of polypropylene inner gloves (just
type that phrase into your search engine). They're cheap, almost
indestructible, and function like the old string vest, trapping warm air next
to the skin. They work for me; I hope they do for you.

Pozdrawiam, Killarney
    • Gość: Polack Re: O Pozdrawiajacych sie wzajemnie rowerzystach IP: *.neoplus.adsl.tpnet.pl 17.03.06, 10:45
      W Polsce predzej cie ktos przejedzie albo opluje - mamy swoja narodowa kulture.
      • Gość: Mikołaj Re: O Pozdrawiajacych sie wzajemnie rowerzystach IP: 213.199.196.* 17.03.06, 22:42
        > W Polsce predzej cie ktos przejedzie albo opluje - mamy swoja narodowa kulture.

        Jedną z cech jak piszesz "narodowej kultury" jest wyolbrzymianie i przesadzanie ;-)
    • pluski Re: O Pozdrawiajacych sie wzajemnie rowerzystach 02.04.06, 18:17
      A ja dzisiaj nie pozdrowilem rowerzystki :( - usmiechnalem sie za to .
      Najmocniej przepraszam , to przez to ze bylem bardzo zmeczony.

      pzdr. pluski
    • yb Re: O Pozdrawiajacych sie wzajemnie rowerzystach 02.04.06, 19:47
      W mojej okolicy nie ma z tym problemu, chociaż zdarzają się dęte mruko-smutasy.
      Pozdrawiamy sie przez uniesienie dłoni, albo zwyczajne "Cześć".
Pełna wersja